The Republican nominee for governor of Arizona, Kari Lake, made light of the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in remarks at a campaign event Monday, drawing laughter from the audience.
Asked about school security, Lake suggested the protection afforded to federal lawmakers should be available to students, as well.
“Nancy Pelosi, well, she’s got protection when she’s in D.C. — apparently her house doesn’t have a lot of protection,” Lake said at a campaign event in Scottsdale, Arizona, sparking laughter from many in attendance.
Lake then said, “If our lawmakers can have protection, if our politicians can have protection, if our athletes, then certainly the most important people in our lives — our children — should have protection.”
Pelosi’s 82-year-old husband, Paul Pelosi, was brutally attacked Friday at the couple’s San Francisco home. The speaker was in Washington, D.C., with her protective detail when the break-in occurred.
A federal complaint filed Monday alleged that the suspect, David DePape, 42, tried to kidnap the speaker, not knowing she wasn’t home at the time. The complaint also said DePape planned to break her kneecaps.
Reached for comment, Lake’s campaign said her remarks didn’t need clarifying.
Lake wasn’t asked about the remark in an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News but said: “We can’t talk about all these issues, because the media has told us they’re prohibited. You can’t talk about vaccines, you can’t talk about elections, you can’t talk about Paul Pelosi, and now you can’t talk about Nancy Pelosi.
“I’m talking about all of those things,” she added.
Paul Pelosi was still in intensive care, surrounded by family members, a source with knowledge of the situation said Monday.
Lake isn’t the first high-profile Republican to have drawn attention for remarks about the attack.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who campaigned alongside Lake this month, sparked criticism for comments he made that touched on the incident just hours after the attack.
“Speaker Pelosi’s husband, they had a break-in last night in their house and he was assaulted. There’s no room for violence anywhere, but we’re going to send her back to be with him in California,” Youngkin said at a rally for Republican congressional candidate Yesli Vega in Stafford County.
Asked to clarify what Youngkin meant, spokesperson Kristin Davison said: “As the governor clearly said, the assault on Paul Pelosi was wrong and there is no place for violence. He wishes him a full recovery and is keeping the Pelosi family in his prayers.”
Vaughn Hillyard and Liz Brown-Kaiser contributed.